Mated To The Wrong Alpha
Chapter 47

Ava turned to face the newcomer. As she’d suspected it was Marla, though her attire was decidedly un-Marla-ish. Sturdy boots, jeans, and a winter jacket weren’t Marla’s usual garb and would almost lead a person to think the woman was planning to do physical labour of some kind.

She was smiling too, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

Rose stood up and nodded in greeting. “I wondered when you’d get here.”

“I knew you’d wait for me. Why should I hurry?” Marla flipped her hair arrogantly and Rose compressed her lips, as if holding back a retort. Instead, she replied in her usual quiet tones.

“Well, we don’t want to keep Ava too long. You’ll never guess what exciting news she has. Did you know that she and Arthur have b***d-bonded? I’m sure he’ll be keeping tabs on her now.” She strangely over-emphasized the words ‘b***d-bonded’.

Frowning, Ava stared at her. What was Rose doing? It seemed a rather unusual way of delivering the news, almost as if she was trying to tell Marla something without actually saying it out loud.

Marla didn’t take the news well. She looked at Ava, then at Rose, and back to Ava again. Her mouth was opening and closing, but nothing came out. Finally, words burst from her painted red lips. “That’s impossible! Arthur’s angry. He thinks you’ve been cheating! He wouldn’t bloodbond with you, even if you were the last female on earth!” Storming over, she grabbed the collar of Ava’s coat and pulled it down, revealing her neck and the mark from the bond.

Watching the woman’s face turn purple with rage, Ava couldn’t help but smirk. “That’s right, Marla. Your plan backfired. Even after hearing the tapes, and seeing the false diary entries, Arthur still wanted to bond with me.” While that wasn’t quite the truth, Ava didn’t feel the least bit guilty about altering the facts. After all that Marla had done, she deserved it.

Growling in rage, Marla tightened her fingers around Ava’s collar and pushed her backward. Stumbling, Ava barely kept herself from falling, but she didn’t really care. A feeling of triumph was coursing through her. At last, something good was happening on this miserable day. Sure, Arthur wasn’t even acknowledging her existence, but at least Marla had finally been put in her place. It was with great satisfaction that she watched the other woman storming back and forth across the small clearing, running hands though her perfectly coiffed blond hair, and totally ruining the look.

Eventually, Marla quit pacing and stood with her back to the others, breathing heavily before spinning around and looking at Rose. “Now what do we do?”

Rose spoke calmly and slowly, as if speaking to a child. She was staring straight into Marla’s eyes. “We don’t have to talk to her now about cheating on Arthur. She and Arthur are connected.

He’ll know the truth about what’s going on.”

Again, Ava frowned. Yes, most would assume that since they had a mental connection,

Arthur would know the whole story—even though he didn’t, she included wryly—but the way Rose was explaining everything made her uneasy. They seemed to have a different agenda than the one Rose had explained.

Marla began to protest. “No!”

“On the way here, we also ran into Julia. She knows I’m with Ava.” Again, Rose seemed to be explaining something to Marla. Ava looked from one to the other. It was as if they were having their own coded conversation.

“I don’t care. We’ve waited long enough. The original plan stands. I’ll think of a way of dealing with Julia.” Shoving her hands in her pockets, Marla glared at Rose.

Rose’s voice became slightly louder. “You’ll think of a plan! No way. I’ve kept a low profile through all of this, and I’m not about to let that change.”

“It’s too late to worry about that now. We can’t pretend that we were going to talk to her and let her go back home as if nothing was wrong. Even someone as dimwitted as Ava must realize something is going on now.” Marla gestured derogatorily towards her.

Ava bristled at the comment but held back a retort instead concentrating on what was going on in front of her.

Rose scowled. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Julia knows I’m with Ava, so whatever happens, I’ll have to think of an alibi.” She turned to look at Ava, “Sorry about this, but you’re in the way of our plans.” With that, she pulled out a gun.

Ava felt her eyes go wide as she stared at the barrel pointed towards her. Whoever would have thought that sweet, mousey little Rose would be in on this, whatever ‘this’ was! “What are you planning on doing?” She knew it was a dumb question but couldn’t help asking.

“Killing you.” Marla grinned. “We’re going to drug you, weigh your body down, and dump it in the lake. Arthur will think you’ve run off with your friend Seth, and the way will be clear for me again.”

An icy chill ran through Ava. The two women before her seemed so calm and matter of fact, as if they were talking about getting their hair done rather than killing someone.

“We can’t use that plan anymore, Marla.” Rose rolled her eyes, as if fed up with her partner in crime. “If Ava and Arthur are b***d-bonded, he’ll be sensing her fear. She wouldn’t be afraid if she was running away with Seth.”

“Rose, when are you going to stop being such a wimp? The b***d-bonding doesn’t change anything. I’ve got Arthur out of the way; he’s busy with another oil spill. Even if he and Ava are b***d-bonded, his mind is occupied elsewhere. We have to do this. Too much planning has gone into it to turn back now

“But we can’t use the runaway bride story anymore. If Arthur knows there was no affair, it wouldn’t make sense for her to run off.” Rose pursed her lips and her fingers flexed on the handle of the gun. Ava tensed, hoping the woman didn’t accidentally touch the trigger.

“True.” Agitated, Marla chewed her manicured thumbnail.

As Ava eyed the gun in Rose’s hand, the most inane thoughts began popping into her head.

This was ridiculous. Werewolves didn’t carry guns. They changed into wolf form and fought!

Hadn’t either of these two read any popular literature lately? Of course, Marla wasn’t into the whole wolf thing, and possibly Rose wasn’t either, so maybe it did make sense. Ava gave herself a mental shake. She was definitely suffering from shock if that’s all she could think about at a time like this! Get a grip she chastised herself.

The gun was still aimed in her direction, but Rose wasn’t paying attention to her. As the two talked, Ava began to inch away. She couldn’t believe that Marla was so desperate for Arthur that she’d be willing to kill just to have him. And why was Rose helping? What was in it for her? Well, no matter; she needed to make her escape before they came up with a plan for her demise.

“Maybe we could hold her for ransom, and send a note demanding cash. Once it’s paid, I’ll transfer the money into the Swiss account I’ve set up for us, so it will be untouchable. Then we can still get rid of her.” Rose glanced at her absentmindedly and Ava froze, but the gun-wielding woman made no comment and returned to her conversation.

Nodding, Marla’s eyes lit up. “That’s good, really good. You know, Rose, you continually surprise me. It’s amazing what you can do with that computer at the bank.” Rose blushed at the praise, and Ava rolled her eyes as she continued to distance herself slowly from the women.

“Now where can we keep her until the ransom is paid?” Rose furrowed her brow but quickly brightened. “I know! At your apartment!”

“All right, but how do we get her there?” Marla studied Ava who was hugging her arms around herself and pretending to be passively awaiting her fate.

“We could still drug her, but then you’d have to carry her to your car and get her into your apartment unseen.” Rose decided.

The comment drew Marla’s attention back towards Rose. “Me? Carry her? Why can’t you carry her?”

“I came up with the idea. You have to contribute something.” Hands on her h**s, Rose glared at Marla, obviously not noticing the gun was no longer pointing at their captive.

Sensing this might be her best chance, Ava shifted into her wolf and began to run. A shout sounded behind her when they realized what she’d done, and several shots rang out. The bullets whizzed past, thankfully missing her and hitting the surrounding trees, causing chunks of bark to fly out like miniature explosions. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the other two women changing form and taking up the chase.

Having a head start only gave her a minor advantage. She didn’t know the terrain in this part of the woods well enough to run at full speed. Keeping herself low to lessen wind resistance, she sped along as fast as she dared, constantly scanning the ground ahead of her for possible trip hazards, while keeping her ears attuned for sounds of pursuit.

A ravine was coming up, and she wasn’t sure how big it was. Could she clear it? It seemed awfully wide. Making a split-second decision, she veered to the left, and ran along its edge while frantically searching for a way across it. As she ran, she berated herself for not having paid closer attention while walking earlier. She had no real idea where she was. All she knew was that the Alpha house was north of her present position. If she had the time, she could have simply followed their scent back into familiar territory, but with two wolves on her tail, it wasn’t possible.

Glancing over her shoulder, she frowned. Only Marla was in sight. Switching her gaze forward again, Ava strained to hear what was going on behind her but could only detect one pursuer. Where was Rose? There was little time to think about it though. A fallen tree was coming into sight, and it spanned the ravine. If she could only make it that far…

Movement ahead of her had her growling in frustration. Rose had obviously gone cross country and was coming at her from the side. Ava dug deep, calling on all her reserves, and ran as fast as possible. The makeshift bridge was approaching. She could make it. Her lungs were starving for oxygen and she was panting heavily. She was almost there. Gathering all her strength, she prepared to leap, coiling her muscles, and launching herself through the air, just as a large furry object appeared in her peripheral vision. It hit her in the side, knocking her to the ground.

The momentum of their bodies sent Ava and Rose tumbling. The edge of the ravine was approaching and Ava dug her claws in, trying to prevent herself from going over the edge, but it was no use. Clods of dirt flew into the air. Stones and shrubs bruised and abraded as she spun over and over. The air was filled with the sound of breaking twigs and clattering rocks, cries of fright and gasps of pain. Her leg caught in a crevice and she twisted. A bone snapped. She yelped in agony, then slammed to the ground in a sudden stop.